Review of the Pearle Vision Franchise Opp and Startup Costs

With health care costs skyrocketing in almost every field in the United States and with no end in sight, people are looking for cost effective ways to get their needs fulfilled. In the vision industry, one of the most popular franchises to provide eye care and glasses is Pearle Vision. Often found in shopping malls, commercial strip malls, and even in standalone locations in some places, this business that was initially founded in 1961 by Dr. Stanley Pearle has become the go-to one-stop shop for complete eye care.

It is important to note up front that absentee ownership in this franchising model is not allowed. You don’t need to be an eye doctor in order to own a franchise, but the costs of hiring an eye doctor in this franchise model while owning the franchise may make start-up costs be much higher when compared to a doctor starting their own franchise. Is joining the #1 rated optical franchise, as rated by Entrepreneur magazine, right for you? Let’s take a look.

What Is the Initial Required Investment?

If you want to get moving on your own Pearle Vision franchise, then the initial investment required will be a $30k franchise fee. This provides you with the opportunity to begin securing your own location, begin negotiating leasing fees, and other specific location-based business concerns that you have within your local community. The low estimate for the total estimate to get this franchise up and running is $294k, while the high estimate is $504k.

About half of all franchisees own more than one Pearle Vision center and if that sounds like something you’re considering, then you’ll receive a discount of $10k on each franchise fee required on each additional unit. You’ll need to secure a store size that is about 1,500 square feet in total size. As an added benefit, you can also convert your current store that sells similar products to a Pearle Vision store under this model.

There’s also an ongoing royalty to consider that is 7% of sales. Luxottica, which owns the rights to franchise Pearle Vision, also requires applicants to have a net worth of $300k, otherwise the franchise application may be automatically rejected. There must also be a proven amount of $100k in cash liquidity to qualify as well. There are, however, opportunities to finance many of these startup costs through third party financing agreements.

Luxottica also manufactures many of the frames that are sold in each store and these frames are sold on consignment. You’ll only pay for what you sell instead of having to pay in advance to stock up on inventory, which makes this a better investment to make in some ways. Doctors and opticians are being actively recruited by the home organization for franchisees, but you’ll make a dramatic impact if this is your career field and you decide to get involved with this organization.

What Kind of Support Do You Receive?

Pearle Vision provides one week of training at a corporate headquarters that is paid for by the franchising fee where you’ll learn the ins and outs of this niche retail market. You’ll also cover basic marketing and advertising campaigns that help to drive customers into stores and go through the operations manual so you know the policies and procedures as they relate to this unique business opportunity.

Once you’ve completed the one week of training, you’ll receive an additional two weeks of training at you chosen location. There’s also a comprehensive series of webinars and other online training resources that will help each franchisee be able to leverage the established systems and branding of this franchise.

These supplemental resources are especially beneficial for the investor who may not have a medical background or have experience in the niche vision field. You’ll cover the styles of eyewear, the varieties that are available today, like scratch-resistant lenses, and other aspects of the business so that you can understand it better and therefore find better levels of overall success.

The key to success within this franchise is the promise that is made to each customer. Every pair of glasses that is sold from your potential franchise location comes with a 100% guarantee. Customers simply bring back the merchandise in its original condition within 30 days of purchase and the franchise will help you make things right with that customer. You’ll also provide repairs, adjustments, or even replacements of the original purchase, although it excludes accidental damage, theft, or scratches. Free adjustments are part of the package as well.

Is This the Right Investment To Make?

Pearle Vision is primarily a franchising opportunity for those who have a background in the medical field and specialize in eye health. Applicants who have this experience or history in the field will be given a priority over the basic investor. Investors, however, can qualify with experience in the industry as well if it can be documented and there is a history of business success that has been achieved.

As for the initial investments, they are on par with a majority of other franchising opportunities that exist today. It all boils down to what your passion happens to be. If you enjoy being able to work with people to improve their lives in some way, namely with their vision, then this is a franchising opportunity that you may find brings great success. If you don’t have experience in this field, you may not realize the full potential of the investment.

With a business that is fully scalable, low inventory costs, and low overhead because a minimum number of employees is required to run this retail establishment, Pearle Vision could help you see the light at the end of the tunnel of investment success. If you need to diversity and have the experience necessary to operate this business successfully, then speaking with Pearle Vision makes sense. Apply online today to begin that conversation to see if your community is in need of the help that this franchise opportunity can provide.

About Brandon Gaille

Mr. Gaille is the CEO of the internet marketing company ByReputation.com, which specializes in SEO, SEM/PPC, social media, and reputation management. Brandon is a serial entrepreneur that has founded five multi-million dollar companies. He is widely known as one of the top marketing minds in the United States.